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Concerning the enigmatic cytochrome b-559 of oxygenic photosynthesis

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Abstract

Although there is an extensive literature on the properties and possible electron transfer pathways of cytochrome b-559, which is a prominent subunit of the multi-subunit photosystem II complex which functions in oxygenic photosynthesis, there is presently no consensus on the function of b-559 in the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The inability in earlier times to define a redox-linked function of this cytochrome was, to a large extent, a consequence of an absence of biochemical and structure information to complement an extensive array of spectrophotometric studies of the cytochrome in situ. Based on the location of hetero-dimeric b-559 in the photosystem II reaction center complex, derived from crystal crystallographic structure analysis, and the absence of a necessary redox function for the cytochrome in PSII, it is proposed that the main function of cytochrome b-559 is linked to its role as a structure component in the PSII reaction center complex. This function resides in the association of b-559 through its heme histidine residues in the trans-membrane domains of the PsbE and PsbF subunits of the PSII reaction center. These subunits, along with PsbJ, are inferred, from the analysis of structure, to define the intra-membrane portal in the PSII reaction center for plastoquinol (PQH2) export which, through the PSII complex, provides the redox link to the cytochrome b6f complex in the electron transfer chain.

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Abbreviations

ATP:

Adenosine; cyt, cytochrome

mDa:

Megadalton

ms:

Millisecond

OEC:

Oxygen-evolving complex

PQ:

Plastoquinone

p, n :

Electrochemically positive and negative sides of the membrane

PS:

Photosystem

Psb:

An acronym for photosystem II

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Acknowledgements

The authors’ research on ‘Structure-Function of Cytochromes in Oxygenic Photosynthesis,’ was supported at different times by non-overlapping grants from the Fogarty Foundation (TW0-1235), the National Science Foundation (GB-26635), the National Institutes of Health (GM-18457), a Research Career Development Award from the NIH (1 KO4 GM-29735), and grants from the USDA (59-2182-1-1-683-0) and DOE (Dept. of Energy) grant DE-SC0018238. We thank R. Harding for assistance with the assembly of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    W. A. Cramer & S. D. Zakharov

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  1. W. A. Cramer
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  2. S. D. Zakharov
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Correspondence to W. A. Cramer.

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Cramer, W.A., Zakharov, S.D. Concerning the enigmatic cytochrome b-559 of oxygenic photosynthesis. Photosynth Res 153, 157–162 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-022-00936-5

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